Dressing up or being dressed up

This study compares how girls that are disguised as boys are portrayed in both fiction and reality. The analysis explores Maria Gripe's Shadow-tetralogy set in 1911-1914 and Jenny Nordberg's reportage book The Underground Girls of Kabul between 2011-2014. The study applies a feminist and queer theoretical perspective. Drawing on Judith Butler's concept of performativity, the analysis explores how gender is not a biological or natural characteristic but rather a social construction that is maintained through repeated actions and behaviors. Literature has used the motif of disguise to alienate gender, highlight structural imbalances and expose gender stereotypes. It has been a way to present strong, complex and active girl characters. In recent years, the genre of fantasy in particular has a similar function. However, in today's Afghanistan, the bacha posh is a survival strategy that gives unprivileged women an opportunity to gain access to education and freedom for a limited time. The results of the analysis indicate how in both fiction and reality, disguising as a boy is an opportunity for girls to live a freer life for a time, albeit for a limited period of time